>> i want to welcome all of you here this afternoon. this is such a great opportunity to see the new faces that will becoming to city college from the school district. we want to welcome all of you. this is yet another way for us to talk about success and the

opportunities we have had in the mayor's office to collaborate with the school district and city college and make sure we are sending more of our kids on to college. in the education adviser and president of the board of education. -- i am the education adviser. it is always my pleasure to be your to make these sorts of announcements because more and more, we realize we cannot do so much of our work without partners. this is a big thank you to microsoft for investing in our kids. before i start, i want to work knowledge a couple of people. our director of san francisco education and a wonderful partner. kimberly is here with her team. marie from the school district, and laurie, who heads our bridge to success program. these are folks that are making all of this happened. thank you for being here.

i would like to welcome our host and chancellor from city college to welcome you and opened this up, dr. don griffin. [applause] >> thank you for being here today. i hope you are excited about mission campus. this is one of our finest campuses, but do not be fooled -- we have nine others, most of which are larger than this. we are very excited about you being here. one, i think you made a commitment to go to college, and college has made a commitment to you. we are trying to, this summer for the summer bridge, make college real for you. in other words, so there is no getting lost or confused about how to get financial aid, counseling, and all those things. this program here is for the

students. we have a model at city college -- we have a model at city college -- students first. any of you who want to see me and talk to me, what we have recognized in the city is that unless we can double the number of students actually going through and getting college degrees, we are in trouble. san francisco in connection with all of our partners, city college of san francisco, san francisco state university -- we are dedicated to doubling the number of used that get through college. welcome to all of you who are for dissipating in this, especially to microsoft who has given us $500,000 for you. this is the kind of support that we need to make sure that all of our young people can get what you deserve. [applause] let me introduce the man that

has been in the forefront to make this happen. i think you already know him since he is one of your own. carlos garcia. [applause] he is the one that says the achievement gap can be eradicated for all of us. he was the visionary that talked about this five or six years ago. he is the guy that kicked this thing off, so we are happy to be in partnership with your leader, carlos garcia. [applause] >> for me, the most exciting things -- and i think for the mayor and all of us here. you look at us up here, lots of people of color. unfortunately when you look at our universities and colleges, they do not have all the people of color. it is great to see an audience of people that look like us. it was about time, right? and i do not know about you, but

that is what it is all about. not about us being successful. all of us already made it. it is about how we get everybody in this city and community to rally behind the young people like yourself who have a whole future ahead of you, and we have screwed up the plan of for you really bad. you guys are going to have to be 10 times smarter than us because we did not figure it out. it is exciting to be in a place where you folks are going to be in the future and to have the gates foundation stepped up and give you some of the tools. one of the frustrating things for me as a superintendent is i kind of believe we are educating all you young people for a world that just does not exist anymore. things have changed so much. when i was in school, there was not computers. things have changed so radically that if you do not have the tools of the world in which you are going to live in, how are you going to compete? one of the things we have been working on together, and it has been great because everybody has

said, a "look, it is not about us. it is about what we're going to do in the city to make sure everybody gets the best education to be successful." that is what it is about. it is about you. if i were you guys, i would be pretty turned on to the fact that there are so many people who care about you. when i was in high school getting ready to go to college, there was nobody to support us. now, we have learned from all those bad experiences. we have learned that people are going to be successful, they need to have support not just from the first day but all the way through. so we start to make sure everybody gets there. it is not about graduating from high school. it is about graduating from college and finding a career or something you are really passionate and excited about that you're going to do for the rest of your life and you are not going to work saying, "i

have to go to work." you will want to go to work because you will find something that makes it exciting for you. i know some people do not believe that. i love my job. i love going to work every day. there are a bunch of headaches and problems. that is great. we get paid to solve them instead of complaining about them. i do not see a room here full of complainers. it is exciting to support you. just go out there and do it. thank you very much. [applause] we are very lucky to have an alumni of our district as well. malia cohen, a supervisor of our district, come on up. supervisor cohen: hello, everyone. good afternoon. i was raised in san francisco. i went to lake shore elementary school and low -- bob -- lowell

high school. it is always refreshing to see san francisco unified school district students doing well. i am excited to be here. i want to thank our sponsors and city family that came together to make this happen. when i was thinking about my words and what i wanted to deliver and share with you, is that oftentimes, i -- last year when i ran for office, people would say that i was so young, that it was not my time. they would ask how i was going to be able to make a change when basically i was just so young. so last year when i was elected, i was 32 years old. i think i am the youngest member of the board of supervisors. i serve with 10 other colleagues, and i represent district 10, the southeast part of the city. i would talk with people during the course of the conversation and remind people that any time

any kind of institutional change happens, that it actually happens from a young persons, from the grassroots level on up. if you think about how technology has revolutionized our lives, you think about google and apple -- those were college students that made those changes come about. i am actually standing on the shoulders of giants, giants who were young people. dr. martin luther king was also a young man when he made some of his revolutionary changes to this world, so i want to encourage you to stay vigilant and stay inspired, and i want you to feel supported. i am here to continue to support your education if you need someone to continue to talk to, and allied. i make myself and my staff 100% available to you, but we are here to talk about technology and the commitment and the impact that technology has on education. i opened with an example of

google and how it was a young college students that revolutionized how we communicate. and i hope that the next great application will come from the hearts and minds of some of the young folks in this room or maybe the next new piece of technology, which will revolutionize how we speak to each other, not just here locally but globally, or come from some great mind right here in this room, this institution. i am very excited to be here. thank you, michael stott, for your contribution to the students, and i also consider this to be an investment, so we have to make good on their return that our community is investing in us. so i am here, and i applaud you. thank you very much. [applause] >> next up, i have the pleasure -- actually, i have the pleasure to introduce him.

mayor ed lee. he is a delight to work for. i was telling him last night that he has a high emotional intelligence. of course, he is intellectually savvy, but that is only half of the equation. what good is being smart if you are not able to apply and relate to people? this man has a big heart. he is very intelligent and very knowledgeable about the city workings and very sensitive to the needs of -- too many of us in this room, particularly the southeast part of the city. of course he cares about all of san francisco, but i believe he has a special place in his heart for us in the southeast. without further ado, please put your hands together and welcome ed lee. mayor lee: thank you all for being here today.

let me first of all congratulate all of you for moving on from high school. that is still a wonderful thing, right? you are there. now, you get to make all the decisions. you get to be responsible for your decisions. i want to welcome you to a new club. i want to welcome you to the million-dollar club. you are today members of the million-dollar club. you know what? that is going to be the difference. it is going to be the difference between those that stayed and did not do anything after high school and those that graduate from college. $1 million in salary difference if you have a college degree. so welcome. you are all millionaires. just stick with it. you do not know it now, but you will stick with it. malia was saying earlier, and i believe what she says is really true -- it is kind of different

because you may think you are on your own, but when i went to college, a lot of people invested in me. i got some serious scholarships. i do not know about you, but i grow up in public housing in seattle, washington. i had to make that adjustment. i did not know if i was going to make it or not. i just work hard to see what happens. but in college, i got some people to invest in me. some serious scholarships, just like some of the investments being made to you today from microsoft and other places. and to think differently than you are not really there on your own any more. you have people watching you, people believing i knew, people thinking that if you are succeeding, a lot of other people are going to succeed. think about that for a moment. you take these scholarships. you take microsoft's investment in you. you possibly may get a laptop,

but you also may earn some scholarships here. that no longer means you just getting money. it also means people believe in you. they actually put their faith that you are going to succeed. what i thought about that for a moment, i decided to do it because it was not just for me anymore but all the people who believe that i will succeed. i will do it for them and if i can believe in myself and do it, other people can as well. with the help with the school district, with microsoft working with us, with the educational fund, and beyond 12 and the nonprofit we have to identify things that other people have said, years ago, the kind of prevented them from being successful. we have that all here. we have been identifying it to make it easier so you do not have to deal with it the first time. you can ask what is going to happen, how you cope with it,

and how you get around stuff that will be in your way so you can be successful and show other people their investment in new is a good one. every major league player, every successful person has had someone else invest in them. right now, we believe in you. i will tell you right now, i am investing in new. as the mayor of san francisco, i am looking at you right now, and i will look at you as people can succeed me in this job. i believe you can do it. i know you can if you just put your mind to it, and you do not get distracted from the naysayers, people who do not want you to succeed, or the events that may happen when there is family or friends that distract you. keep focused. keep your mind set on what your doing. and unless the investment people have made in new -- under is the investment people have made in you.

i think you will get into the $10 million club. that is what i am trying to do. with that, i promise to make the city welcome you to -- when you have that degree, to make sure we have the jobs. i am trying to make the city successful. i am trying to make sure muni is on time. but i am also trying to make sure great companies like microsoft, like twitter, like zynga -- all these multimillion- dollar companies about to go public -- i want them to hire you. they will only look at you if you have that degree and that focus. keep this in mind -- other people who did not listen to this and did not know people invested in them -- 27% of those never made it to college. only 27% made it. there is that other 60- something-percent of people that are not thinking they can be successful.

so keep your focus and understand all the people that believe in you because we do. no matter what your background is. you can be your own person. and if you are the first in your family, more blessing to you because the other people in your family are looking out for you as well wanting you to succeed. i want you to succeed so bad. i want to make sure that when you finished your first year and are looking for a job, look us up at city hall. we have some internships. we have some things going on that you can spend time this summer helping us do. look out around you, talk to your friends and tell them to be proud of what they're doing. just because some people say, " you are in college, maybe you are spending your time the wrong way peter -- spending your time the wrong way." you are spending it the right way. i want to thank you for focusing on battery yourselves and better in your community.

thank you very much. -- battering yourselves and your community. thank you very much -- bettering yourselves and your community. thank you very much. >> thank you. we want to bring up the western regional general manager for microsoft. thank you so much. [applause] >> i could not be more honored or excited to be able to represent microsoft at this event. it is so important. and this is one of the most exciting parts of my job. today, we are partnering with the san francisco unified school district, the sanford cisco education fund to help provide new tools for college-bound students -- the san francisco education fund. today, we are donating $5,000 of software and $15,000 in cash that will be used to purchase these fantastic laptops you see

so the students that will be attending and are enrolled in the bridge to success program for the summer. [applause] destination really demonstrates microsoft's-ticket -- dedication to focusing on allowing use this to improving your learning outcomes through the effective use of technology in your learning and also to gain access to all that dynamic digital information that is truly essential for you to be successful in your careers and be a lifelong learner. with that, we would like to make sure that we continue to partner and use this partnership as a role model to further this kind of partnership to enable all education community members to have access to 21st century skills and technology that will

enable you to be successful in your college and future careers, so thank you very much. [applause] >> i would like to introduce renee espinoza from the san francisco education fund. >> hello, everyone. i am the ceo and founder of an organization called beyond 12. we are a national non-profit organization, and our mission is to increase the number of low- income and first-generation students who graduate from our nation's colleges and universities. we are focusing exclusively on the college graduation peace. what happens after all of the hard work has been done by our pre-collegiate partners once we get students in? are they actually graduating?

are they earning degrees that have value and allow them to become part of the million dollar club we were just hearing about, and do those degrees actually allow them to translate their lives and break the cycles of generational poverty from which many of them come? we do that by working with pre- collegiate organizations and high schools but also colleges and universities. we are the organization running the bridge to success summer program, and shortly, the program is a six-week transition program targeting students from san francisco unified, many of whom are the first in their families to attend college. over the course of the program, our students will be participating in a variety of different activities, taking math and english courses, and they will also be participating in various workshops, college success related workshops that help them develop real professional skills. they will be doing study skills

workshops, a career placement workshops, resume writing, time management, and prioritization among other workshops. the goal is to help ease hours to the transition from high school to college and to help our students build a foundation for academic, personal, and financial success. ultimately, the goal of the program is to ensure that our students are persisting and that they are graduating, that they are earning a post-secondary credentialed. if their goal is to receive an associate's degree from the city, then that is what we are making sure that they do. and if their goal is to transfer into a four-year institution, we are making the commitment to them that they will do so. we are extremely grateful to microsoft for this generous contribution, extremely grateful to all of the partners, and i know our students are excited about these last -- these laptops.

[applause] and we have made a commitment to them. if you do all of the things that you have promised, if you come to class and attend sessions, and if you are engaged, and you do all of the things that your coaches and mentors are asking of you, then on july 21 when you graduate from the program, you will have a fully loaded netbook donated by microsoft. [applause] i would like to take a few minutes to speak directly to our students. congratulations. you have heard from everyone already. congratulations on making it to this point. congratulations on being so engaged. you have already been showing up every single day, last thursday, last friday, and today to take your courses -- we are so extremely proud of you, so extremely excited you have taken this step. look around the room. there are all these people here

to support you. let us support you. you do not have to do this alone, but we are here and making a commitment to you today and every single day that if you participate in this program, then you will earn your college degree. you will not be a statistic. i commend you and congratulate you for taking this step. thank you, students. [applause] >> and because it is always better to hear about the story from the mouth of the students, i would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to one of our students, vera de la cruz. [applause] >> hello, everyone. i am actually from daly city. i graduated from just a high- school.

i do not know how to start, but i am going to go to city next semester, but i did have -- i was registered last semester. i was supposed to come here, but i had to withdraw because my mom had to leave work. she was on sick leave. i had to drop school, dropped everything. i worked out at the daly city wingstop, so i was there making chicken, and i was wondering if i was ever going to be able to go back to school. i went to my best friends graduation and found the bridge to success program, and they had all these opportunities to get me back on track for school again. it was really helpful. i was just so overwhelmed of everything i had to do. the placement tests, registers with counselors. this whole program, really helped me out. just the fact that microsoft is

here, and the whole educational system makes it a lot better for me. i breathe easier now to know that i have all this support. just to come from where i was -- i believed that there really was no way. there always is a way. there is no last stop. there is always opportunities. that is what it is all about, and that is what i am grateful for, that they offered me all these opportunities. [applause] thank you. >> well, thank you. what an exciting announcement with great partnerships as we continue to get you all to college. i do not know if there are any questions, but if not, we are just really thrilled that microsoft has stepped in and

step up and is going to support our kids the way that you are, and clearly, our partners will continue to work really hard for you. this is your summer, guys. this is where you start to show what you will be doing in the fall. congratulations to all of you. good luck during the summer. we look forward to continuing to support you. [applause] >> bye, everybody. yeah!